Home Is Where The Heart Is
by Mrs.McGinty08
Summary: All his life Ethan Wate had wanted to get out of Gatlin so bad that he could taste it. But now that his dream was coming true, leaving was the farthest thing from his mind. Ethan P.O.V. Based on the ending of the movie Beautiful Creatures.
1. Revelations

I was finally going to do it. It took 16 years but I was finally getting out of Gatlin. On my way to check out NYU with my best friend Link by my side, you'd think life couldn't be better. But something was wrong. For the first time in my life, I didn't want to leave. My momma always used to say that there's two types of people that live in Gatlin, the people too stupid to leave and the ones too stuck to move; and I was stuck. Stuck between freedom and the jail I'd called home all these years. But for some unknown reason I wanted nothing more than to tell Link to turn the car around.

I looked down at the book in my hands, _You Get So Alone at Times That It Just Makes Sense _by Charles Bukowski, and decided to try to relax, assuming that it was just nerves causing me to feel this way. I opened the book and began to read a poem called Lifedance. I couldn't quite put my finger on why but this poem was really familiar…

"Hey, man? Can I read you something? I think I've heard it before" I asked Link, who simply nodded.

I began reading, familiarity in every word:

_some lose all mind and become soul:_  
_insane._  
_some lose all soul and become mind:_  
_intellectual._

"I've never heard it before. What on EARTH are you reading?" Link asked, curious, keeping his eyes on the road.

"It's Charles Bukowski" I replied, showing him the cover.

"Cool" Link replied after glancing at the cover, with a look that told me that he thought I'd lost my mind.

I finished reading the poem, to myself this time:

_some lose both and become:_  
_accepted._

I looked out the window, taking in the scenery one last time. I was comfortably numb until I saw the Gatlin sign, or more accurately what was left of it. For some reason my mind snapped back to Lena, forcing me to look down at the last two lines of the poem again.

'Accepted?' I thought to myself and gasped. Everything finally made sense! I had lost both my mind and my soul to Lena Duchannes and had found acceptance. I didn't want to leave because I was already home. Memories and flashbacks hit me, vivid, bright memories of the way my life used to be and the happiness I had found with Lena. The way her curly black hair framed her face, the way she kissed me, and the way her beautiful deep green eyes looked into mine.

My momma used to say there's two types of people that live in Gatlin, the people too stupid to leave and the ones too stuck to move. Now, I don't think that's quite true. There's two types of people that live in Gatlin- that's true, those who want to stay and those who have found something worth staying for.

"Stop the car" I commanded, earning a look of confusion from Link who stopped the car as asked. I got out of the car and yelled "Lena!" before running back to Gatlin and back to the woman I loved.


	2. Home

I ran as fast as my legs would take me and only stopped running to yell her name once more. I saw Lena dart out of the Library and ran faster, taking her in my arms and embracing her tightly. We stood there for what felt like an eternity, lost in each other, willing time to stop.

"I read some of the book you gave me" I confessed, gazing into her dual coloured eyes.

"And? Was it good?" She asked with a smile, gazing back.

"Define good" I replied, leaning in and capturing her lips in a passionate kiss, causing a nearby tree to catch fire.

"Still haven't got the hang of my powers yet" She explained, looking down bashfully.

"I can see that" I teased, lifting her chin up with my finger, forcing her to look in my eyes.

"We should probably call someone…" She started, motioning towards the tree that was now almost fully engulfed in flames, before getting cut off by my finger on her lips.

"Let it burn" I suggested, removing my finger from her lips and instead capturing them in loving kiss.

After we pulled apart, we continued to gaze into each other's eyes. Not unlike mirrors, we could see ourselves and everything that we wanted to be reflected in the eyes of the other. We couldn't take our eyes off of each other. It was as if our eyes had finally found everything they had been seeking. I know I sure have.

I took Lena's hand in mine, intertwining our fingers. And as if by magic, a heart appeared etched onto our ring fingers, half of the heart on my finger, the other half on Lena's, a symbol that is still there to this day. And whenever we tell this story, we always pinpoint this as the moment we knew without a doubt that you CAN choose your own destiny. After all, home is where the heart is.


End file.
